Watermark
by mrsProbie
Summary: Formerly "Last Chance." Hermione Granger's parents are killed and she must move in with her godfather, Charlie Swan. But what's up with this weird town? Seriously... vampires and shape-shifters? Hr/Jsp. Mild language. Sexual references. E/B.


**A/N: Hokey dokey. Here's that first chapter I said I'd give you, completely redone. *crosses fingers someone besides the author's cat (whose opinion may or may not have been won over with cheap catnip) will like it***

**Hermione POV**

"Filius, may I borrow Miss Granger for a moment?" _Great_. What did Snape want with me now? Harry and Ron exchanged a look, and I knew they were wondering the same thing. "The headmaster would like to speak with her." Oh, so he was just fetching me.

"Of course, Severus," Professor Flitwick said, nodding so emphatically that he almost fell off of the pedestal he had set up behind his podium. Snape looked to me expectantly.

"Do I need to bring my things, Professor?" With Dumbledore, you never knew if you were needed for five minutes or an hour and a half, see. When Snape nodded tersely, I leant over to grab my things and, as Flitwick returned to the lecture, I whispered, "See you guys later," to Harry and Ron, each of whom responded with a halfhearted wave.

"May I ask what this is about, sir?" I asked politely as Professor Snape and I charged down the halls and chambers to Dumbledore's office. He acted like he hadn't heard me, which I found extremely frustrating. I repeated the question, but got the same (lack of a) reply. I gave up after that, and for the remainder of the walk, we were silent.

When we arrived at the entrance to Dumbledore's office, Snape looked the gargoyle levelly in the eyes and muttered, "Frozen yogurt," in his best disapproving-professor voice. Snickering, the gargoyle slid aside to let the two of us pass. Snape remained silent as we climbed the stairs and entered Dumbledore's office. He gestured to one of the chairs in front of the headmaster's desk. The other was occupied by a brunette man who looked to be in his early to mid-forties. I knew I recognized him from somewhere, but I couldn't place him! When he spoke, it was his voice that revealed his identity.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, his accent distinctly American. As he stood and came forward to embrace me, a wave of recognition rushed over me. It was my uncle Charlie, my mum's stepbrother from Washington. I hadn't seen him since the summer before fifth year, barely two weeks after the physical return of Voldemort (needless to say, I had been a little distracted last time we'd spoken). I hugged him tightly to me- he didn't seem to want to let go, and I was fine with that. I needed a few seconds to get my head together, anyway. What was he doing here? He was a Muggle! A Muggle who lived thousands of miles away, to boot! I still hadn't thought of a possible reason he could be at Hogwarts when he suddenly pulled away and held me at arms' length, looking me over.

"I swear, you look exactly like your mother did when we were your age. Well," he added thoughtfully, "maybe a bit taller. She was really short, you know." I smiled, then sat down in the chair Snape- who was, now that I checked, standing near the doorway, a filthy sneer adorning his face- had gestured to when we first entered the room. Charlie returned to his previous position, slumped toward the back of the armchair Dumbledore must have summoned for him.

"I'm very pleased to see that the two of you remember each other," Dumbledore said gravely, "as you, Hermione, will be living with your uncle for a time." I looked from Dumbledore to Charlie and back to Dumbledore, wondering what exactly he'd meant by that. Fortunately, before I had to feel stupid and ask, the headmaster continued: "It pains me deeply to tell you this, Hermione." I became still, my eyes locked with his (icy blue and sharp, even through those half-moon glasses of his). "Your parents have been killed by a burglar." He paused briefly, but, sensing I had nothing to say- or perhaps simply couldn't say it yet- he told me more. "The murderer was one David Karpinski, Jr., a twenty-four year old man from your town." I blinked furiously. "According to the police, he decided he was not content with your mother's jewels, and wanted much more of hers." I realized Charlie was stiff at my side. I could tell he'd already sat through this story once. "Your father lunged for Mr. Karpinski, but the robber had a gun."

There was no need to tell me the ending of this horror story. I already knew what was going to happen next. "Your neighbors, the Carlottis-" oh, yes, the Carlottis; Mona Carlotti was just as nosy as Petunia Dursley, but infinitely sweeter- "called the police when they heard gunfire. They found Mr. Karpinski almost a mile away from your home a half hour later." My mind was spinning. I vaguely wondered how Dumbledore had managed to memorize all those facts. "He is, needless to say, in very deep feces." How could he be so _emotionless_ about this?

A thick silence settled into the room as I took all of the information in. The only sounds seemed to be my heartbeat and shallow breath. My eyes closed as I counted to ten, trying to remain calm, but the tears eventually fell anyway. We remained in this silence even as I lowered my hands and wept. "Wh- when?" I demanded, tilting my head up sharply.

"The estimated time of death was eight o'clock last night."

I closed my eyes again, willing myself to not cry any more. 'Estimated time of death.' Such cold words, completely separate from their meaning. As I met my headmaster's gaze again, I straightened my back. "What am I going to do? About school, I mean? If I'm living with Charlie…"

"That's entirely up to you," he said, hands intertwining as he leaned forward slightly. "There is a school in Seattle, relatively near Forks, I believe," he paused, looking to Charlie, who nodded slowly. "It's called the Seattle Academy of Sorcery and Spells. Tuition would be very cheap there, in the same general price range as Hogwarts."

"What if I want to stay _here_, though?" I felt- and probably sounded- desperate. Would I really have to leave my friends and start over? And my professors! I loved my professors! "No offense, Charlie, of course," I amended a little late.

"Your parents specified in their wills that you are to actually live with Charlie, so it would be impossible for you to continue to stay here." My face fell, and fresh tears began to sting my eyes yet again. "However," Dumbledore continued gently, "if you are willing to put in the effort, and Charles approves, we may be able to arrange for you to study long-distance. Would you prefer that?" Eyes wide, I nodded eagerly. "I believe you've passed your Apparition test, yes?"

"Yes, sir." With that, the three of us (Snape, much to Dumbledore's apparent irritation had left without notice) huddled together over Dumbledore's desk to form a plan that would allow me to continue "attending" Hogwarts overseas.

**Bella POV**

"Where's Charlie?" Edward questioned as I threw my backpack into the backseat of his Volvo. I settled into my seat, and he softly shut the passenger door.

"He's in Scotland, picking up my cousin Hermione," I replied, playing a string of hair. I really needed to condition more, it was starting to get rather dry. _Damn. Alice is rubbing off on me already. _"My aunt- Charlie's step-sister- and uncle died yesterday, and he's her godfather."

"Oh," Edward said, eyebrows raised slightly, resulting in what seemed to me the most god-like expression I had ever seen him wear. "I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know you had relatives in Scotland."

"Well, she isn't really _from_ Scotland; she just goes to some boarding school there. She's from England. Somewhere near Liverpool, I think."

"So she's the boarding school type."

"What do you mean by that?" I tilted my head to the side, crazy confused.

"Well, you know…" he trailed off, apparently trying to think of how to phrase his thoughts in a inoffensive manner. "Snobby, you could say."

"Oh, no! God, no. Hermione isn't like that at all." I had to hold back the laughter I knew was threatening to bubble up at any moment. Hermione? Snobby? "Those girls make fun of her. She cares too much about people to be that kind of person." Edward nodded, listening intently. "Or, at least, she did a few years ago, the last time I saw her. She's pretty quiet. Very studious. Keeps to herself," I added, listing the qualities I generally associated with my bookworm cousin. At this point, I was definitely glad Edward was incapable of reading my mind. _Oh, and she's a witch, too._ I'd only found out the day before, at the same time as Charlie, when some greasy-haired guy with a hooked nose had shown up to take Charlie back to Scotland to meet with the headmaster at Hermione's school to discuss 'what had happened.' The fact that she was a witch almost didn't surprise me. _Thanks, Cullens_. "Like I said, I haven't seen her in two years or so, but last I remember she was about my height, with this big bushy brown hair, and brown eyes. She seemed a little on edge to me, but, I don't know… she was just really jumpy, you know?" He nodded again, keeping his eyes on the road for once. "I don't think she's always like that, though. There must have been something going on I didn't know about." Entirely possible. "How was your evening?" I asked, changing the subject with incredible grace and subtlety. Edward grinned that crooked, lopsided grin I adored so much.

"I slept pretty well."

"Oh, shut up." His smile grew even larger. Suddenly, his grin disappeared, and he gripped the steering wheel tight with both hands.

"What's wrong, Edward? Edward? You okay?" He shook his head. "What's wrong?" An intense feeling of confusion washed over me, quickly replaced by what felt like mild depression. _What the_- Jasper! This had to be something he was up to.

"Alice just broke up with Jasper," Edward whispered. My jaw dropped. When he spoke again, his voice was back to a normal level. "She says there are better things coming for both of them. Or, at least, that's what she's thinking."

We pulled into the school parking lot and cruised to our normal spot next to Rosalie's convertible. Jasper and Alice got out, and I watched them closely. They weren't holding hands like usual. They weren't even joking around as they normally did. Though Alice's step had slightly less spring, she seemed otherwise fine. Jasper, on the other hand, looked broken. He caught my eye when he realized I was watching him, and I looked away quickly.

**A/N: So, what did you think? I realize this is way later (like, four days later!) then when I said I'd upload, but first I lost my USB drive, then I accidentally deleted it, then my internet was down… it's like fate was trying to tell me, "Don't you dare upload that!" Hope y'all like it a bit better than fate appeared to have :p Y'all's support means a lot to me, and I'd be honored to have it **


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